Matthews, Mark and Molly: Mark 8:22-26 and 10:46-52 in two Contemporary Irish Dramas

Abstract

Two recent Irish dramas, Molly Sweeney by Brian Friel and Communion by Aidan Matthews, make use of the motif of blindness and allude to the Gospel miracles of healing. This paper will attempt to explore some elements of intertexutality between these three texts and suggest that the afterlife of texts is as much a dimension of the process of interpretation as is the exploration of the text's genesis and literary origins. If the term "intertextuality" is a relatively recent one, the process of reading one text in the light of others has probably been going on since the beginning of reading. Texts may "enter" other texts in a viariety of ways: through direct quotation, discreet allusion, imitation or parody, to name but a few.